Donald Trump has said there could be ‘very bad’ punishment for Vladimir Putin if he doesn’t accept the ceasefire with Ukraine.

The US lifted its suspension of military aid for Kyiv yesterday (11 March) as Russia is considering the new proposal.

But it seems Trump could be threatening Putin with great consequences if he doesn’t agree to it.

Ukrainian officials have signalled they are open to a 30-day ceasefire backed by Washington as the US president says he wants to end the war.

While discussing the administration’s efforts to bring an end to the three years of fighting, he again said it could lead to World War III.

Donald Trump has warned of ‘very bad’ things for Russia (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Trump said he hoped ‘it is not going to be necessary’ that he has to take measures to pressure Russia into the ceasefire, while criticising previous presidents for their record of dealing with Moscow.

“They never took anything from me. They took them from Obama and Bush, and they took from sleepy Joe Biden. With Biden, they wanted to take the whole country, but I think I’ve stopped that, but we’ll see,” the president said of his own previous dealings.

However, as reporters asked how he could secure a deal with Russia, Trump said that if needed ‘there are things you can do that wouldn’t be pleasant in a financial sense’.

“We could do things very bad for Russia. Would be devastating for Russia. But I don’t want to do that because I want to see peace,” he added.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it is important not to ‘get ahead’ of the question of responding to the new ceasefire proposal. He told reporters that Moscow is awaiting ‘detailed information’ from the US and suggested that Russia must receive that first before it can take a position.

Zelenskyy and Trump had a heated exchange in recent weeks (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Now lifted, the US’ suspension of military aid came after a heated exchange between Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy at the White House. The American warned Zelenskyy he was ‘gambling with World War III’ as the world watched on as tensions grew.

This decision to then resume US assistance after talks on Tuesday with senior Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia marked a sharp shift in its stance.

And Trump said ‘it’s up to Russia now’ as his administration presses Moscow to agree to the ceasefire.

“And hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia,” he said today in the extended exchange with reporters during an Oval Office meeting with Micheál Martin, the Taoiseach of Ireland.

“And if we do, I think that would be 80 percent of the way to getting this horrible bloodbath ended.”

Donald Trump reckons it’s much easier to deal with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin rather than Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The US President, 78, didn’t mince his words when it came to discussing which leader he is more fond of in the Oval Office on Friday (7 March).

And considering he was speaking to reporters from the same location he and Zelenskyy had verbally sparred in a week prior, it’s hardly that surprising.

Take a look at Trump going toe to toe with Zelenskyy here if you need a refresher:

There’s been a lot of developments since the pair locked horns in the White House on 28 February, including the suspension of all US military aid to Ukraine.

It had been reported by the New York Times that over $1 billion (£787.3 million) in arms and ammunition will be withheld, forcing the war-torn country to turn to private contractors instead.

Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko warned that this would be ‘catastrophic’ for the nation, although a White House official told Fox News it was ‘not a permanent termination of aid’ but a ‘pause’.

Trump has now also pulled the plug on Ukraine’s access to some satellite imagery, according to the BBC.

In his latest comments regarding the prospect of achieving peace between Putin and Zelenskyy’s countries, the President seemed to flip-flop between who’s side he was on.

Trump said he find it ‘easier’ to deal with Russia rather than Ukraine (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

He explained he was ‘strongly considering large-scale sanctions‘ and tariffs on Russia until a deal is brokered, because the country had been ‘pounding’ Ukraine as of late.

It came after Ukraine’s energy infrastructure was battered by a large-scale missile and drone attack on Thursday (6 March) night.

But just hours later, Trump had drastically changed his tune and said that other people would be doing the same if they were in Putin’s position.

“We’re doing very well with Russia,” Trump said. “But right now they’re bombing the hell out of Ukraine.

“I think he [Putin] wants to get it stopped and settled and I think he’s hitting them harder than he’s been hitting them. I think probably anybody in that position would be doing that right now.”

The US President pictured with Vladimir Putin in 2018 (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

When asked why he had cut off military aid, the President responded: “I want to know [Ukraine] want to settle and I don’t know they want to settle.”

Trump went on to say that he finds it ‘easier’ to work with Putin rather than Zelenskyy, as the Russian leader ‘wants to end the war’.

“I’m finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine,” he said. “And they don’t have the cards.

“In terms of getting a final settlement, it may be easier dealing with Russia.”

The commander-in-chief said he has ‘always had a good relationship‘ with Putin, adding: “He wants to end the war. And I think he’s going to be more generous than he has to be.”

Next week, senior US and Ukrainian officials are set to sit down in Saudi Arabia in the hopes of smoothing things over following Trump’s row with Zelenskyy.

Here’s to hoping that pans out better than the one in the Oval Office did, eh?

Vladimir Putin is reportedly considering a truce deal with Ukraine, but only if his conditions are met.

Last month (18 February), Russian and US officials met in Saudi Arabia to discuss the idea of ending Russia’s war against Ukraine, which escalated on 24 February 2022.

According to Bloomberg, people who are said to be familiar with the matter said Putin’s Russia would be open to a temporary peace plan, but only if their strict conditions are met.

One of Putin’s strict conditions is that he would allegedly want to decide which countries would take part in a peacekeeping plan.

This would include control over the structure of the peace plan and its principles, two people who are familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

Donald Trump said from the Oval Office on Friday (7 March) that ‘we’re doing very well with Russia,’ but are ‘finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine’, following a heated exchange with Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week (28 February).

President of Russia Vladimir Putin is reportedly considering a peace deal with Ukraine, under strict conditions (MIKHAIL METZEL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Tensions boiled over when Vice President JD Vance demanded that Zelenskyy should express gratitude for the US’s military support to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy responded with gratitude, but also highlighted the ongoing struggles of his country.

Trump then went on to criticise Zelenskyy, something he did a lot during the meeting, warning that Ukraine was ‘gambling with world war three’ without US support, which has now been paused.

However, the American President said on Truth Social yesterday that he will sanction Russia if they don’t stop ‘pounding’ Ukraine.

“Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, l am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED,” he wrote.

Donald Trump has threatened Vladimir Putin with sanctions (MIKHAIL METZEL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

“To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you!!!”

This comes after Sir Keir Starmer told Zelenskyy he has ‘full backing across the United Kingdom’, after the two met in Downing Street on 1 March.

The two nations have signed a £2.26 billion loan deal for the UK to provide Ukrainian military supplies, which will be repaid using profits from frozen Russian assets.

As cheers could be heard from outside, Starmer told the Ukrainian leader: “That is the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you, how much they support Ukraine.”

He added: “We stand with you and Ukraine for as long as it may take.”

Zelenskyy replied: “I saw a lot of people and I want to thank you, the people of the United Kingdom, [for] such big support from the very beginning of this war.”

American officials have sent a strong message to Russia following the announcement that Ukraine had accepted a US proposal for a ceasefire.

Following talks between the Ukrainian and US delegations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia today (11 March), both countries released a joint statement today saying there had been ‘important steps toward restoring durable peace’ in the Eastern European country.

“Representatives of both nations praised the bravery of the Ukrainian people in defence of their nation and agreed that now is the time to begin a process toward lasting peace,” the statement read.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave the update after productive talks between the two nations (Ukrainian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the US proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and which is subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by the Russian Federation. The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has now told the media that it is now up to Russia to accept the interim ceasefire terms.

“Hopefully we’ll take this offer now to the Russians and we hope that they’ll say yes, they’ll say yes to peace,” Rubio told reporters.

“The ball is now in their court, but again the president’s objective here number one above everything else he wants the war to end, and I think today Ukraine has taken a concrete step in that regard. We hope the Russians will reciprocate.”

National Security Adviser Mike Waltz added that he would be speaking to his Russian counterpart in a couple of days.

US-Ukraine announcement: what you need to know

Earlier today a joint statement was released by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy‘s website, which stated that US and Ukrainian delegations had engaged in productive talks mediated by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The statement included confirmation that:

• The US ‘intelligence sharing and security assistance’ pause had been lifted
• Ukraine had accepted the US plan in implement an ‘immediate interim 30-day’ ceasefire

Has Russia responded to the announcement?

Russia is yet to respond publicly to the joint announcement, however a spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry said that Kyiv’s recent drone attack was evidence the Ukrainians weren’t willing to engage in diplomatic talks.

Russia continues to attack the Eastern regions of Ukraine (TETIANA DZHAFAROVA/AFP via Getty Images)

“There is no doubt that the drone attack had been planned beforehand and was timed to coincide with today’s US-Ukrainian talks in Saudi Arabia on settling the conflict,” the foreign ministry said in a statement (via BBC).

“The Zelensky regime has shown a total lack of political will towards peace and settling the conflict via diplomatic means.”

Meanwhile, Russia has continued to attack the eastern regions of Ukraine, with six people – including two children – killed after a recent strike in Donetsk Oblast.